More Articles

Faculty salaries would grow by 2 percent this year under a proposed labor contract at Columbus
State Community College, but class sizes would grow, too.

The college and the union that represents its 335 full-time faculty members, the Columbus State
Education Association, have agreed to a three-year contract scheduled to go before the college
board of trustees in September. Union members approved the contract earlier this month.

Although he didn’t release results of the faculty vote, the union president called it the “
most-contested ratification” in the history of the union. Kevin James, who is also a math
professor, added that the faculty union “continues to be disappointed by the college’s lack of
transparency.”

As labor negotiations were winding down, college leaders revealed that
school finances are better than initially thought — the college spent $6.8
million less than planned last school year, and unused employee buyouts added another $1.1 million
to the unexpected boon.

But by then, the college already had negotiated pay raises for faculty members.

Beyond the 2 percent increases this year, the contract includes 1 percent raises for each of the
next two years. It also would give each faculty member a one-time payment of $1,500 this year. But
the budget news “made faculty question whether the administration bargained in good faith,” James
said.

In the previous contract, faculty members each received a one-time payment of $2,000 in 2011 and
of $1,000 the next year. In 2013 they received a 1 percent salary increase and a $500 payment.

Full-time faculty members at Columbus State taught 45 percent of all classroom hours this past
spring, according to data provided by the college. The 1,130 adjunct faculty members, who aren’t
represented by the union, taught 54 percent. Kimberly Hall, chief of staff at Columbus State, said
there was no deception in the negotiations.

“The team was operating with the best information that we had as it emerged,” Hall said. “We are
still facing circumstances that require us to be very conscientious about our spending.”

Enrollment has been falling at the college, which has about 25,000 students
this year, since it switched to semesters in fall 2012, leading to financial challenges and deep
budget cuts. There are signs that enrollment could be turning around soon, but there’s already a
long list of campus projects in need of attention, officials said, and the college has 43 faculty
jobs that have gone unfilled.

“Our faculty members demonstrate great leadership every day, and the central role they play is
reflected in this agreement,” Columbus State President David Harrison said in a statement.

To help rein in costs, college leaders are proposing larger class sizes starting this year.

Under the labor contract, most classes would need at least 12 students or else the instructor
would be paid at a lower rate. In past years, the minimum class size was seven students.

“Faculty believe that the administration’s one-size-fits-all solution to a complicated issue
like minimum class size will result in significant problems,” James wrote in a statement, “such as
preventing students from completing their degree programs in a timely manner, lower enrollment and
the discontinuation of degree programs.”

Hall said that the college will make exceptions to the rule when needed.

Most other benefits in the contract would remain unchanged. Faculty members who complete certain
health activities will pay 20 percent of their medical-insurance premiums, as they have in the
past. Those who don’t participate will continue to pay 30 percent in the new contract.